Nicodus de Planchia or de la Planche is cited in several documents as "clericus" at Lutry. He was one of the two "gouverneurs" of the commune in 1466. By about 1480 he was "procureur fiscal" of the Bishop of Lausanne, Benoît de Montferrand, and in this capacity was involved in the disputes of the time regarding the competing authorities of the Bishop, the Chapter, and the Duke of Savoie over the citizens of Lausanne and of the territories of the Bishop, which included Lutry. A document at the AVL (Corps de Ville EE 349, dated the Friday after the feast of St. Clemens, 1483, 28 nov 1483 by the modern calendar, referring to rights and privileges confirmed in 1469, see Corps de Ville A 149) discusses the question of whether Nicod de la Planche is exempted from complying with the judgement of the court of the Duke against him for infractions against the liberties and franchises of the citizens of Lausanne, by virtue of his citizenship at Fribourg. For a discussion of the complicated politics of that period, see Père Martin Schmitt (ed. J. Gremaud), Mémoires historiques sur le diocèse de Lausanne, vol. 2 (1859), the chapter on the reign of Benedictus de Montferrand, especially pp. 219-229. The document from 1483 was written during a period when Bern and Fribourg were negociating a settlement of the dispute between the Bishop and the city of Lausanne. When the final settlement was reached in Lausanne on 03 feb 1483 (1484 by the modern calendar), the previous judgement by the court of the Duke was set aside. However, it appears that promises made to compensate the Bishop and his officers for their losses during the dispute were not kept, and it seems likely that Nicod de la Planche, whose house at Lutry had been broken into at one point (Père Schmitt reads the name as Nicod de Blanchia, but in the context, we have no hesitation identifying him with the officer of the Bishop), resulting in the theft of wine belonging to Ours Werder, a citizen of Bern, no longer felt secure there, and so left the area.

If, as seems likely, Nicod personally purchased or otherwise acquired citizenship at Fribourg, that fact should appear in the "Grand Livre des Bourgeois" (second volume of the registers of the bourgeoisie of Fribourg, covering 1416-1796, at the Archives de l'Etat de Fribourg).

The accusations against Nicodus de Planchia and the other officers of the Bishop of Lausanne, accused of exceeding their authority and infringing on the liberties and franchises of the City of Lausanne, are given by Fréderic de Gingins-La Sarra and François Forel, "Recueil de chartes, statuts et documents concernant l'ancien Evêché de Lausanne", Mémoires et documents publiés par la société d'histoire de la Suisse Romande, ser. 1, tome 7; see especially pp. 640-668, dated 28 sep 1482). The accusation notes that he had been married and that he had children. The significance of this statement is not clear, but it may be that it was made in order to establish that he was not subject to an ecclesiastical court and that, therefore, the court of Savoie had legitimate jurisdiction.

The name of his (first?) wife and, apparently, those of her father and brothers, are revealed in the fragmentary terrier ACV Ff 32bis, especially fol. 134v ff, a reconnaissance by Johannes du Crest, 18 jul 1512. There are additional references in this terrier implying that Martin and Gaspard were the sons of Nicod. Elsewhere in the same terrier, there are several mentions of Johannes Reis of Fribourg, and his sister Elesia (=Alexia?), wife of Petrus Tavernery (=Tavernier), clerk of Fribourg, as the current or recent owners of property that had come from Martin and Gaspard, or from Nicod de Planchia, in the indefinite past. Since there seem to be multiple properties involved, it may be that Johannes Reis and his sister were the children of an unknown daughter of Nicod de Planchia at Estavayer, 06 may 1489 ( Mermet de Montet, notary, ACV Dc 32bis, fol. 54v). On fol. 57v of Ff 32bis, there is a reconnaissance for Vuilliermus Gauthey, followed by "affranchiseements" for Vuilliermus and for his later brother Petrus, in the course of which there is mention of adjacent property held as of 17 may 1490 by the children of Nicod de Planchia, thus implying that Nicod himself had died before that date, or else that they had received a donation from him or from his wife. Other citations place the death of Johannes Reis before 1511.

While the reconnaissance of 1512 give his wife's name as Mermeta Gavod, there is an earlier reconnaissance (Fl 399, fol. 212, dated 05 mar 1486) for Mermeta filia quondam Discreti Girardi Hugoneti relicta Bartholomei de Treytorrin tutrix suorum liberorum, nunc uxor providi viri Nycodi de Planchia notarii. From this, it is clear that Nycodus was still alive in 1486. It is now clear that Nycodus had two wives, both named Mermeta (a very common name at that time), and, since Mermeta Hugonet had been married previously and still had minor children from that marriage as of 1486, that it was Mermeta Gavod who was the first wife of Nycodus, and the mother of his known children.

A direct statement that he was the father of Martin and Gaspard is found in the terrier ACV Ac 25. This register bears the title "Liber veterum rentariorum cleri et cappellaniarum". The first half of the register is undated, the second half begins in 1540 when the volume was re-purposed to keep track of the rents owed by persons and entities for property formerly subject to the clergy and chapels of Lausanne. In the first half, the original entries are in a larger hand, with later annotations that are generally in a smaller hand and written above the original entries, in the case where the original owners had died or had been replaced as a result of sales, etc. There are also some very small marginal notations apparently from an even later period. The original list may go as far back as 1480 or even earlier; the next group of annotations surely date from before the imposition of the Reformation in Lausanne, 1536, but could be significantly earlier than that. It may be possible to date some entries more closely, because some of the persons named are fairly well documented.

On folio 17 of this register, in a list for property at Lutry, we find the following annotation: "Martinus et Gaspardus eius filii tenent", followed by the original entry, "Nicodus de Planchia et Clemens filius quondam Johannis Layvraz". In some of the other entries, the first person named is the "principal", the person in whose name the land is owned, and the second name is the "fidejussor" or security who is liable in the event the principal defaults on his obligations. It is possible that Clemens, son of Johannes Layvraz (=modern Leyvraz) was simply the security for Nicod's obligation. From the other documents that mention Nicod and his sons, we surmise that the original entry must have dated from before 1490, and the annotation from somewhere in the period 1513-1525, thus well before the Reformation.

For the evidence connecting this Nicod de la Planche, father of Gaspard and Martin, with the Gaspard Planche at Payerne, see the notes for Gaspard.

A "reconnaissance" for property at Payerne dated 04 mar 1456 (ACV Aa 12/4 no. 579) by Nicodus de la Planchi of Corcelles says he is the son of the late Nicolletus de la Planchi. This "Nicolletus" is probably the same person as the Nicolletus, son of Otthetus de la Planchit, who is mentioned circa 1410 in the records of the notary Pierre de Trevaux.

A fragment of a register of a notary called Nycodus Planchia or de Planchia has survived, containing transactions for the years 1484-1490, concerning the area around Cudriffin, Avenches, Vully, etc. (ACV Dc 31bis). Marginal notations show that it was later in the custody of Anthonius Perrin, another notary of Avenches. One item in this register mentions Nycodus de Planchia and his wife Mermeta. It is still not certain that this is the same Nicod de la Planche, but if so, we surmise that he left the Lutry area after his adventures in service of the Bishop of Lausanne and settled in the Vully region. The same Nicod de la Planche was certainly present at Estavayer-le-Lac in 1489 for the signing of the marriage contract of his son Martin.

In the records of the notary Pierre de Treyvaux (ACV Dp 108/1, fol. 92), we found a transaction dated 11 oct 1410 in which Nycoletus de la Planchit son of Ottheti de la Planchit of Corcelles, bourgeois de Payerne, acknowledges receipt of a marriage settlement of 23 livres of Lausanne from Oliverius son of the late Jaquetus Ruerat of the said place of Corcelles, bourgeois de Payerne, for Margareta, daughter of the said late Jaquetus and sister of the said Oliverius. Nicolletus was presumably of the age of majority at that time, since he acted in his own name. The dowry was "assigned" or secured by property belonging to Nicolletus, some of which was adjacent to property held by Johannes de la Planchit.

Vuilliermus DE LA PLANCHE (ID #I28020)

On 02 jan 1419 (1420 by the modern calendar), his brother Nycoletus de Planchia was appointed tutor and administrator for the orphan children of Vuilliermus (Petrus de Trevaul, notary at Payerne, ACV Dp 108/2, fol. 82v).